Kidney Stones!

[angeldelayette]

I just thought I'd put out a little warning for everyone to listen to their bodies and know what they have. For a while now I've woken up every so often with killer back pain and used the restroom and just toughed it out. Yesterday morning I was returning to bed and the real pain started. It was enough that I had to go and spend half the day in the ER drugged up on pain meds, along with them giving me pain meds to take at home. When I was in the ER waiting room I literally thought I was gonna die and was begging them to give me something to take the edge off the pain but they couldn't until the doctor saw me. I found out today that I have 6 kidney stones in total right now in my body. 3 on the right, 2 on the left and one that is stuck in the tube to leave me. Things may not have been so bad if I had gotten myself checked out beforehand, especially since I have a history of kidney stones. I've had about 5 or 6 times in my lifetime where I've had them. Moral of the story, always follow what your body tells you.

[Wallbanger]

Oh, can I sympathize. I passed my first kidney stone last year. Outright misery. No posture is comfortable -- you can't stand up, you can't sit down, you can't bend over, you can't lie down -- it hurts no matter what. Cranberry juice, my friend. An 8-ounce glass of cranberry juice a day.

[angeldelayette]

[QUOTE=Wallbanger;425206]Oh, can I sympathize. I passed my first kidney stone last year. Outright misery. No posture is comfortable -- you can't stand up, you can't sit down, you can't bend over, you can't lie down -- it hurts no matter what. Cranberry juice, my friend. An 8-ounce glass of cranberry juice a day.[/QUOTE] I completely agree with you about it being miserable but just so you know the cranberry juice is a bit of a myth. I asked my urologist today and he said that cranberry juice is good for bladder infections but not for kidney stones. It's not bad for kidney stones, just doesn't help or hurt either way.

[BurningHamster]

[QUOTE=Wallbanger;425206]Oh, can I sympathize. I passed my first kidney stone last year. Outright misery. No posture is comfortable -- you can't stand up, you can't sit down, you can't bend over, you can't lie down -- it hurts no matter what. Cranberry juice, my friend. An 8-ounce glass of cranberry juice a day.[/QUOTE] So kidney stones are more painful than drinking cranberry juice every day? Damn that sounds like hell :(

[Wallbanger]

[quote=BurningHamster;425271]So kidney stones are more painful than drinking cranberry juice every day? Damn that sounds like hell :([/quote] LOL. I acutally like cranberry juice, though I alterntate between straight cranberry juice and cranberry-grape blends. But angeldelayette's comment sent me to looking stuff up on the internet, and lo and behold, it's not the panacea folks thought it was for kidney health... [quote] [I][I]Juices and Specific Effects.[/I] Other beverages have various positive or negative effects, depending on the type of stone: [LIST] [*]Lemon Juice. Drinking one-half cup of pure lemon juice (enough to make eight glasses of lemonade) every day raises citrate levels in the urine, which might protect against calcium stones. (While orange juice also increases citrate levels, it does not lower calcium and it raises oxalate levels. It is, therefore, not recommended.) [*][B]Cranberry and Apple Juice. Apple and cranberry juice contain oxalates, and both have been associated with a higher risk for risk for calcium oxalate stones. Cranberry juice has properties that may increase the risk for both calcium oxalate and uric acid stones. On the other hand, cranberry juice helps prevent urinary tract infections and so may be helpful for reducing the risk for struvite and brush-ite stones. (These stones are far less common, however.)[/B] [I][B][Essentially what angeldelayette's urologist told him -- Ed.][/B][/I] [*]Blackcurrent Juice. In one study, blackcurrent juice reduced acidity and was associated with protection against uric acid stones. [*]Grapefruit Juice. A number of studies have found a risk for stones from drinking grapefruit juice. In one study, just one 8-ounce cup of grapefruit juice per day increased the risk for forming stones by 44%.[/LIST][I]Other Beverages and Their Effects on Stone Formation.[/I] [LIST] [*]Soft Drinks. Cola can severely reduce citrate in the urine and should be avoided. Many soft drinks contain phosphoric acid, which increases the risk for stones. Some research shows that drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase a person's risk of developing stones by 15%. [*]Alcohol. Wine may be protective against kidney stones. A study conducted in Finland, however, suggests that the risk of developing stones decreases with beer consumption. It should be noted that beer is high in oxalates. Beer and other alcoholic beverages also contain purines, which may increase the specific risk for the less common uric acid stones in susceptible people. Binge drinking, in any case, increases uric acid and the risk for stones [*]Coffee and Tea. Some research as reported a lower risk for stones with tea and both regular and decaffeinated coffee.[/LIST][/I][/quote] [I][URL="http://adam.about.com/reports/000081_7.htm"]from About.com's Health Illustrated Encyclopedia[/URL][/I]